I strongly urge you to read and consider this pastor's opinion about the Keystone XL pipeline, and then to act on this information by informing your legislators (both here in TN and in Washington DC) about your opinion.

(It is clear to me that we must do a better job of communicating with our legislators and also in holding them accountable for their…

Below is an excerpt from an e-mail received this morning from the IPL headquarters. Please feel free to share!

"When talking about the connections between Nemo (or any storm) and climate change, take care to make accurate statements about these connections. Here are some tips for talking about this potentially historic blizzard:



Paint the big picture.



Climate change is changing the weather. The past few years have been marked by…

Rev. Canon Sally Bingham sent the following message today:

"Yesterday, as I heard the president speak eloquently about the threat that climate change poses to our children and our call from God to preserve the planet, I was encouraged. Now we need to act by making this year's national Preach-In on climate change the biggest one yet! Whether you are clergy, a lay leader, green team member, or a parishioner,…

In the past week, I've discussed with several different people the distinctions and the similarities between and among three TN-based environmentally focused organizations that I support. This situation caused me to wonder if others also feel some amount of duplication of effort. I've begun to feel we might be more effective with better collaboration toward a common goal.

Two of the three organizations require no membership dues or fees, so it's not a matter of choosing which…

Climate change threatens humanity with severe environmental, social and moral consequences. We are called to practice what we know through our faith—to sustain life and to show compassion.  What we do will make all the difference in the world.

TN Interfaith Power & Light is the state affiliate of a network of faith communities working across the U.S., offering a spiritual response to climate change. Our mutual efforts will protect our climate through upholding the…

I was recently confronted with an idea that is at odds with my own thinking. Frankly,  I'm not sure what to do about this information. I was told that many of the faithful in NE Tennessee think that climate change should not be addressed at church because they see it as a political issue, not a moral/ethical one. Recently, John Torrey offered much of the same argument I would use (perhaps more forcefully than I would, but probably more convincingly as well). His blog is found at…

You may already know that HB 368 is in line for Gov. Haslam's signature. I ask you to support excellence in science education for students in TN--call Gov. Haslam now at 1-615-741-2001, give your name and city of record, and ask him to veto HB 368. I don't know when this might reach his desk, so time is critical on this matter.…

I used to love that part of Paul Harvey's radio show! Since my other blog about the McKibben event was already too long, I decided to wait and post my reaction/reflection about it later. Those of you who know me realize that I find it difficult to mince words. I'm pretty straightforward, and actually prefer it if other people return the favor. So here's the "rest of the story" that was prompted by listening to Bill McKibben over at UNC-A last week:

My bottom line:  I'm appalled that…

It's a few days later, and I'm still motivated to write something (hopefully persuasive) to help people get a glimpse of the message about climate change that Bill McKibben came to Asheville this week to deliver. I took notes; it's the student in me. I love to learn, but I have also learned that I can't trust my recall as much as I'd like. So here goes. These are not "news flashes" but they are important points..."power points" in my humble opinion. I will add a second blog about my…

During my many enjoyable years teaching vertebrate zoology at ETSU, I would always end my lecture on the evolution of the vertebrates by saying we had now entered a unique stage in the history of life on Earth – The Age of Man.  I would then go on and point out that we have long been used to referring to various Ages of -- (Fishes, Amphibians, Reptiles, etc.) but there has never before been a time that only ONE species was the dominant biological force on…

(Below is most of a blog of the same title posted on May 17th, 2011 by Earle Holland in Research News at Ohio State, but I've added a slightly different ending.)

Quoting Earle:

"Among those who do science (as well as those of us who cheer from the sidelines) the loss of public interest in recent years robs the…

Here's a link to a knowledgeable and trustworthy blog about climate change, which has links to Dr. Lonnie Thompson's recent article in The Behavior Analyst (a .pdf download), plus a short video of an interview with Lonnie and Ellen Mosley-Thompson at the…

Hot: Living Through the Next Fifty Years on Earth by Mark Hertsgaard

This is the latest in a series of books dealing with the idea that the climate change shouting is over and the game has begun.  The basic idea is that if we really wanted to avoid climate change due to global warming we should have reduced CO2 emissions 20-30 years ago when the problem was first noted.  As a result of this foot-dragging, global warming and climate change are now under way and nothing…